The School District of Chilton will be holding its first annual Mental Health Wellness Festival on March 5. This will be a learning event with speakers on a variety of mental wellness topics to help the Chilton community live healthy lives.

The event will be held at Chilton High School and will begin at 4:45 p.m. with a free supper. If you plan on attending, please RSVP for the meal at bit.ly/mhfestival2020 by February 26. Families are welcome, and free childcare will be provided during the next portion of the event in which guests can choose from informational sessions on mental health at both 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.

Among the choices for sessions is “Grief: Understanding the Experience of Loss” presented by Jeanette Potts, who has a master of science degree in leadership with a concentration in grief and bereavement from Marian University and holds an accredited Certification in Thanatology from the Association of Death Education and Counseling. Another options is “Stop the Stigma: My Personal Story” presented by Michelle Lewis, a teacher at Clintonville Public Schools. For a full list of session choices, go to bit.ly/mhfestival2020.

Throughout the event, REACH, Calumet County's substance misuse prevention coalition, will have a mock bedroom on display. This display provides clues to help determine whether a child might be experimenting with drugs, tobacco or alcohol. Room décor, hidden compartments and items to conceal use are located throughout the room. REACH will also offer free materials for safe medication storage/disposal and refrigerator locks.

Then guests are encouraged to relax and take in a show as Chilton Elementary School will be performing “The Aristocats” at 7:00 p.m. To buy tickets in advance, go to www.englercenter.com.

For those not attending “The Aristocats,” a town hall meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. to discuss mental health in the Chilton community.

“Chilton High School is proud of the efforts we take to provide for our students’ mental wellbeing in school and beyond,” said CHS Principal Shawn Rude. “We are also proud that we can be a part of helping to build positive mental wellbeing in our community. We hope this event will provide a chance for people to connect to resources and have an enjoyable evening in the process.”

During the school day, seventh- to twelfth-grade students will attend another portion of the Mental Health Wellness Festival. Starting at 1:15 p.m., Rise Together will give a presentation in the Engler Center for the Performing Arts. They are a group of passionate storytellers and changemakers based out of Appleton, and they are on a mission to break the silence around addiction and mental health. Then at 2:00 p.m., students, teachers and administrators will go to the gym where organizations will have booths to share information and resources. There will also be fun activities, such as an inflatable obstacle course and henna tattoos.

If you are part of a local organization that offers resources to support students’ mental health, please consider joining us for the school day portion of this event to share what your organization has to offer. To learn more and/or register for a booth, please contact Suicide Prevention Committee Co-Adviser Zach Platner by February 26, via email (platnerz@chilton.k12.wi.us) or phone (920-849-2358, ext. 4363).

Partnering with the school district to make this event a reality are Prevent Suicide Fox Cities and REACH.

Caption: The School District of Chilton looks for every opportunity to encourage mental health awareness in our community. The second annual Mental Health Awareness Night was held at CHS on Dec. 6, as part of the evening’s boys basketball games. Among the fun activities was a piñata-smashing contest between Mrs. Kelly Moehn, a CMS and CHS teacher, and Deputy Matt Eberhardt, the district school resource officer (above), during halftime of the varsity game. The piñata represented stigma, the shame that people unjustly feel when discussing mental health.

Would you like to attend Calumet County STEAMfest? https://wisconsinsciencefest.org/event/calumet-county-steamfest/ The Chilton Public Library, Brillion Public Library, New Holstein Public Library, along with Chilton & New Holstein Schools are planning events for the whole county, October 17-19, 2019. Our event will take place at the CMS Gym at 3:30-5:30 pm on Thursday, October 17. Brillion Public Library will host their event from 4:00-5:30 pm on Friday, October 18. New Holstein Public Library will host their event on Saturday, October 19 from 10:30 am -12:30 pm. Other events in our area this weekend include Cave Tours at Ledge View Nature Center: https://wisconsinsciencefest.org/event/halloween-candlelight-cave-tours/2019-10-18/

We are trying to interest students in STEAM careers: science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Our event is being coordinated with Wisconsin Science Fest. https://wisconsinsciencefest.org/

We will begin at 3:30 in the CMS Gym with a talk from UW-Madison professor David Baum. Dr. Baum will tell us all about baobab trees. https://badgertalks.wisc.edu/speaker/david-baum/ Then attendees will visit various tables & displays. So far we have:

Chilton Middle School and Elementary School will have their annual Open House on August 29th, 2019. Students can bring their school supplies, meet their teachers and check out their lockers. Open House will run from 4:00 - 6:00 pm. Once again, the middle school will hold their 10 minute, non-mandatory, grade level information meetings in the gym. Please be sure to pay school fees and pick up schedules before August 29th.

Mission Statement

We, the Chilton Public School District, believe that preparing students to achieve their potential is our highest priority. In partnership, with all members of our community, we are committed to inspiring our students to be life-long learners and responsible, contributing members in a global society.

District Vision Statement

Our vision is to:

be an innovative school system recognized for every student's demonstration of the skills necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world

demonstrate continuous improvement through the delivery of a challenging education program that fosters student achievement, accommodates individual learning styles, and values personal integrity

develop an interactive partnership between the school district and the community that is mutually beneficial.

District Core Values

We Value: Honesty, Integrity, Community Service, Respect for all, School facilities that support safe learning environments, Financial stability, The teaching and learning process: they are the core business of our schools, Continuous improvement in delivering an excellent educational program, A highly trained, professional staff, Our reputation as a high performing school district, All students succeeding at high levels.

District Belief Statements

1. We believe that all students can learn at high levels.

2. We believe that all students are entitled to a rigorous curriculum that challenges each student's capacity to learn.

3. We believe that teacher effectiveness and expertise have a significant impact on student learning.

4. We believe that our financial and human resources must directly support student learning.

5. We believe that the success of every student is critical to the future of our schools, our community, our nation and the global marketplace in which they will work.